Iskandar's Secret
by Andu243
Summary: Fire has represented her, but never like this.
1. Dragon

Desjardins came to the Hall of Ages and addressed Chief Lector Iskandar. He asked, "You summoned me, lord?"

Iskandar replied, "Yes, Michel. You are my best student and worthy of this secret. I need to tell someone, for I'm in my last century. You know how in the 1820's Jean-François Champollion deciphered the Rosetta Stone and how Moses beat 20 House of Life magicians, including Ramses?"

"Yes sir."

"There was another intruder, one who was far more secret and astounding. Her name was… Katherine Cahill."

Katherine was angry with Tomas for being so thick. After leaving Cahill Island, they had settle down for 3 years in Ireland. She knew she had to leave, or Luke would get them. But he had insisted they stay. She couldn't, so she left.

Now Katherine was in Luxor, Egypt investigating some hieroglyphs that stumped Egyptologists from all over Europe.

She figured it out easy. She was reading some etched on the surface of a temple. Katherine read it aloud. Big mistake.

She read, "And for those of the pharaohs blood, may the House of Life be revealed!"

The ground shook, and then a whirlpool of sand opened up and started sucking her in. She resisted, but the more she struggled, the harder it pulled.

Katherine was sunk in.

She found herself in a hallway that seemed to go on forever. She walked down it until a man with a staff and wand stopped her.

"You! Are do you work for the House of Life?"

She answered, "No."

"Then you must die!"

He threw down his staff, and it transformed into a tiger. The tiger roared and pounced.

As a last defense Katherine pulled out the knife that her mother had given her and threw it.

Then the knife started spinning and lit on fire. It grew bigger, and before her very eyes, there was a dragon.

"Who are you?" The man asked.

Katherine was at a loss for words. She could only watch as the dragon let loose a stream of fire and incinerated the tiger.

The man screamed and sent a fireball heading towards Katherine.

Katherine ducked and it flew over her.

Then she felt her pocket. The dragon had disappeared and the knife reappeared. She grabbed it, and then right as the man sent a fireball her way, she sliced the fireball.

For some reason, the fireball turned around towards the man. It grew bigger until it consumed him. He was no more.

Katherine looked at the ashes of the man she just killed.


	2. The Truth

Katherine was over come with guilt. First she had stolen an invaluable Clue from Tomas, know she had killed a man. How low could she go?

She had no time to think of it now. More people were coming. They were coming from behind. She had to go down the hallway.

She was running at full pace down the hallway. But the people were catching up, and the hallway was infinitely long. There weren't any doors or separate paths in the hallways, only these amazing moving pictures that she couldn't stop to admire.

They got so close one of them pointed his staff at her and a gust of wind sent her sprawling. She got up and saw the people were to close. She had to fight.

She drew her knife, but then fell unconscious.

* * *

><p>She woke up on bed in a bare room. A man sat at her side. He looked older that time itself.<p>

"You have been out for a long time. We almost destroyed you. If you were out another hour, you would be dead," he said.

"What is happening?" she asked angrily.

"You must know. Your powers, only the greatest magicians of the House of Life have come close to yours. What Nome are you from?"

"I do not know what a Nome or a House of Life is."

"Then how did you get so powerful?"

"I honestly don't know."

"Maybe you're right. You used magic in a reckless way. That's why you passed out. Good magicians would never do that."

"I am not a magician. I am a scientist. Magic is not real."

"Then how do you explain this?"

He stuck his hand out and a hieroglyph came out.

"This is a trick. Making the hieroglyph _Ha-di_-"

The bed exploded. Katherine was sent flying upwards and sent down, landing on her rear.

"How do you explain that, Katherine Cahill."

"How did you know that?"

"Magic, Katherine. I also know how Damien Vesper killed your father. And your 3 siblings, Jane, Tomas, and Luke. There is another, but I don't know her name."

"You are wrong. I only have 3 siblings, and one of them is a murderer."

"Oh really?"

He stuck out his hand a cloud appeared. Inside the cloud, she saw an image. It was a picture that changed everything. He saw Lord Vesper walking away from her Father's lab as it was burned to the ground.

"I don't know who you are, but you may be right," she said.

"You will trust me one day, but now you have a choice. Either be destroyed or trained."

"Fine, I will train."

"See that you do. You begin tomorrow."

* * *

><p>Thanks for reading! Reviews are appreciated!<p> 


	3. Safety Precautions

Katherine woke with a bucket of cold water in her face.

A six-foot tall woman with brown hair and green eyes in red linen robes held the bucket.

"Hello, Katherine. Lord Iskandar ordered me to be your trainer."

Katherine got up and said, "I still don't believe in magic."

"You will soon."

"Never."

The woman sighed. "Some are just too skeptical."

"There is no such a thing as to skeptical. Especially when it comes to magic."

"If it's not magic, than how do I know about the Hydrogen, Silver, Mercury, Uranium, Water, Phosphorus, Myrrh, and Zinc?"

Katherine barred her teeth. She had just named all of her Clues, even the one she stole from Tomas!

"How did you know all of my Clues?"

"Magic."

"Who do you think you are? I am a scientist!"

"I am Melia, Chief fire elementalist of the House of Life. And I see that you have secrets. But I have some too, so I will leave yours alone. Come I will take you to the training area."

Melia led Katherine through a maze of rooms. Finally they arrived in a two-story room that had a balcony overlooking it. 3 people in lined stood on it.

Melia pointed to them.

"Those are some of our best water elementalists. According to Lord Iskandar, you are a dangerous Fire elementalist. This is a safety precaution."

Katherine asked her, "What do I do now?"

"Iskandar said you have great magical powers. Most weapons and magic you use will use fire, but that saps a lot of energy from you and is destructive. First, we will teach you your powers."

She then handed her a 5-foot smooth stick with a ruby at the end.

"This is a staff. Along with a wand, this is the magician's weapon."

Katherine grabbed the staff.

Immediately the staff caught fire until Katherine was holding a pole of fire.

Katherine screamed and threw down the staff. The staff went back to normal.

She looked at her hand. There was no burn or singe.

Melia gasped.

Below Katherine was a swirling tornado of fire that began to consume her. The tornado was climbing up to her neck.

The last thing she saw before it encompassed her head were the people on the balcony firing blasts of water at her.

Apparently the blasts were ineffective, because she stood inside the tornado for five minutes.

She felt queasy again, and blacked out again.

* * *

><p>Katherine woke up in another bare room with the same old man.<p>

He said to her kindly, "You had another bad display of power. Take a look."

He pointed to the sky and a cloud appeared. The cloud showed the image of her throwing her flaming staff down. Then the imaged moved.

The staff started spinning around her feet, making a 5-inch tall tornado. It grew taller and taller.

When it reached her neck, the blast of water hit the tornado. As they hit the tornado, they disappeared.

Melia and the water elementalists ran as the tornado raised Katherine and had her like a cocoon.

Then the tornado dissipated leaving Katherine hovering in the air with her arms and legs extended.

He eyes were closed as her knife materialized in front of her.

It pointed at her and stabbed her in the heart.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for Reading! Reviews are appreciated!<strong>


	4. Dreams

Katherine looked at the image in horror.

"Am I dead?" she asked the old man.

"No," he said, "Keep watching."

At the knife hit her chest, flames spread across her body. Once they covered her, they disappeared.

Instead of Katherine being there, there was a dragon.

Katherine watched it, dumbfounded.

The dragon let out a stream of fire and incinerated the balcony. It inhaled to release another stream of fire, but then a lightning bolt struck it.

Standing right there was the old man.

He pulled a staff out of nowhere.

Another lightning bolt hit it.

Then the dragon started shrinking.

Soon, it was just Katherine lying there unconscious.

The image fizzled.

The old man said, "I had arrived just in time. Melia had told me about the incident. It is my decision to send you to train with the other trainees. And no more fire. Ever. You begin tomorrow."

* * *

><p>Katherine's regular training went well. She was good at the basics, like spell's and Putting things it the Duat. She also had made good friends with a trainee name Jasmine.<p>

However, she was bad at elemental magic. She couldn't make enough wind to jingle a wind chime. When she created cheese, it was rotten. She couldn't summon enough water to bath an ant. When she tried to make a pillar of earth, she made a hole. The only option was fire.

But she would never use fire again.

One day after breakfast Jasmine asked her to meet her in her dorm.

Jasmine led her through the girl's dorm section until they arrived at her room. They entered and Jasmine shut the door.

She pulled out a sketch and showed I to Katherine. It was a picture of a family. She recognized Jasmine younger.

"This was my family. We were a happy family until the fight. I can't even remember what it was about."

Tears started forming on her face. "Then the House of Life came. Then I wanted to leave my family more than anything, so I did. But I regretted it. My dream is to see them again. But that is the type of dream the House of Life steals. Do you have a dream like that Katherine?"

"With all this magic, I may never be a scientist."

"There are 3 others here that think like you.

We are planning an escape."

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry for uber-short chapter! Reviews are Appreciated!<strong>


	5. Escape

Katherine was in the right place.

She was in the back corner of the mass library, in the Fall of Egypt section. They should be on shelf over from her. She walked to the next shelf. They were there.

Jasmine sat there, along with to other men and another woman. They were all reading books or scrolls.

The taller man, William, a wind elementalist, put down his book.

"Hello, Katherine. Now we can begin our final meeting. Maria, if you please."

A tall, blonde girl handed him a scroll.

"It was a map of a very long hallway. The Hall of Ages.

Maria pointed to the end of the hall.

"Iskandar's throne is there. It's magic disables all obelisks in the vicinity unless if permitted. The only artifact in the Hall that is out of its influence is almost at the other end. Also, his magic prevents leaving unless from his throne."

She pointed to the other end.

"We are going to have along fight today. Samuel, did you find out when Iskandar is out of the Hall?"

Samuel answered, "He's gone at noon. We will make our run then."

William finished, "Get a good rest. Tomorrow is our big day. This is our last meeting."

Katherine tried to get a good night sleep like William had told her. But her _ba, _as it was called was restless.

* * *

><p>She saw herself in a room. The wallpaper made her realize it was Mother's bedroom at Cahill Manor. She saw Mother lying on the bed, alone, in great pain.<p>

She realized she was giving birth.

Before she could wonder to whom, she was pulled from the dream.

* * *

><p>Now she was in the throne room of a palace. On the throne sat a chubby man in very fancy clothes. She recognized him as King George.<p>

To the side of the Throne stood a tall, thin man.

A shiver went up her spine. It was Luke Cahill, the swine who had killed her father. She started seething in anger, until the King started talking.

"Luke, I have a private matter to attend to. You are dismissed."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Luke took of in to a side hall. Katherine found herself following him. He walked into a bedroom. The walls were adorned with red wallpaper and a four-post bed. A lone picture of Damien Vesper hung behind Katherine.

Luke pulled out a knife and threw it at Katherine.

She screamed, but no noise came out. The knife went through her. Katherine whirled around and saw the knife had hit the picture.

Again, everything went black.

_So much for a good night's sleep, _Katherine thought.

* * *

><p>The five had gathered at the pharaoh's throne. Maria, Katherine, Jasmine, Samuel, and William. They all touched the throne.<p>

"Let's go," William said.

They started running down the hall.

They ran down the red section without interruption.

It was the same for the Blue section.

The Bronze section, however, did not seem to end.

Finally their luck ran out.

6 magicians were walking out of a side hall and spotted them.

"Attack!" one of them shouted.

The magicians pulled staffs out of nowhere and started twirling them.

Maria, Samuel, William, and Jasmine did the same. Katherine pulled out an amulet, a pen, and a scroll.

The six magicians arranged themselves in a triangle. The one in the front touched the ground with his staff and elevated the triangle.

Samuel pointed his staff at them and a gust of wind knocked sent them flying off the pillar to the other side of the triangle.

Maria tapped her staff on the ground. Stair rose of to the pillar.

The 5 escapees ran up the stairs and stood atop the pillar. Looking down, they saw six magicians, building a wall.

Samuel pulled out an amulet, clutched it with one hand and shouted, "Jump!"

The five jumped off. Samuel's staff was glowing, causing a gust of wind to sail them over the wall.

With the enemy magicians trapped, they ran through the bronze section quietly.

The Copper section was similar.

It happened halfway down the Silver section.

Out of nowhere came 20 magicians, again arranged in a Triangle.

At the front was Melia.

"You!" Katherine shouted.

"You would join the rebels! Now I must destroy you!"

She raised her staff and the magicians did likewise.

"Our time is at hand!" William shouted.

Maria made a wall separating the rebels from the magicians.

It didn't work. Beams flew over the wall and sailed towards them.

The five had to keep rolling to avoid blasts.

"Samuel! Give me air!" Jasmine shouted.

Samuel tapped his staff.

Jasmine spiraled over the wall. While she moved, she was glowing. The wall blocked the rest.

Katherine heard magicians screaming.

"What's going on?" Katherine shouted.

"I don't know! Maria! Tear down the wall."

Maria twirled her staff. The wall disappeared.

They saw only 5 magicians left, and something.

Katherine recognized it.

"It's a combat avatar!"

But it was shrinking. Soon Jasmine was lying on the ground.

Katherine ran towards her, dodging beams of light.

She looked down at Jasmine and looked at her.

She was lifeless and not breathing, like a rag doll.

"You killed her!" Katherine shouted at Melia.

Katherine forgot her vow.

She pulled her staff out of the Duat. It started flaming.

"You'll kill us all! Fool!" Melia shouted.

She twirled the staff. A giant tornado of fire was sent towards the remaining magicians.

When it disappeared there was only ashes.

Katherine was on the floor, struggling to breath.

Somehow, it passed away and she stood up.

"Let's go."

They ran through the Silver and Gold quietly. Finally, they were at the artifact. Right as they stopped, a sand portal opened.

Right out of it came Iskandar.

"We definitely do have a situation here."

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for Reading! Reviews are appreciated!<strong>


	6. The Last She Saw

Katherine was shocked.

"So that's where he goes at noon," Samuel said.

"Be quiet!" Iskandar shouted. He stuck his hand and blasted them with wind. They were sent flying across the width of the Hall.

"Samuel! Now!" William shouted. While in midair, Samuel rotated so it looked like he was flying.

He threw his staff. It twirled in the air, bending the wind current towards the artifact. The four were flying towards the artifact. They would make it.

Until Iskandar started firing. Bolts of fire, water, cheese, and ice were sent towards them.

A little help from Samuel help them dodge the bolts.

"Only a few more yards!" Maria shouted.

Wham! A fireball hit Katherine. It knocked her to the ground. She was lying on the ground and watched William, Maria, and Samuel, fly into the portal.t

She got up and ran to the portal, but Iskandar materialized in front of her.

"Oh no you don't!"

"Think again."

Katherine summoned two staffs out of the Duat. Soon, she was holding two bolts of fire.

Iskandar shouted, "You truly are foolish!"

The portal was closing. She only had seconds.

Katherine made her last move. She threw down both staffs. Twin dragon soared into the sky.

"You can't expect to control them!" Iskandar screamed.

"I don't need to."

Right as the dragons had Iskandar distracted, she jumped in the portal, feet first.

The last she would see of the House of Life was Iskandar struggling against the two dragons.

* * *

><p>"And that, Desjardins, was the last the House ever saw of Katherine Cahill."<p>

"This is an interesting story, but why must I know."

"Her descendents are now running around the world, doing something."

"What?"

"We will find out. We will."

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry for short chapter, but this was the end! Reviews are Appreciated!<strong>


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